High-speed railway plans call for new stations in Birmingham
Network Rail's plans to establish a cross-country high-speed railway link could be a boon to construction recruitment in the Midlands, with two new stations expected to be constructed in Birmingham.
According to a reports on Building.co.uk the HS2 Company is expected to recommend a high-speed railway line into the city itself. This would require the construction of two new stations. It is expected that one of these would be built in the city centre, with one possible location identified as the Eastside district. The second would probably be placed near the Birmingham International Airport, close to the M42.
The HS2 company was established by the Department of Transport to consider the route, funding and other logistics for the proposed link. Its final report to the government is expected by the end of the year.
Birmingham's existing New Street Station is said to be unsuitable for the proposed high-speed railway. Despite refurbishment and maintenance work which is currently underway at the facility policymakers say that it is either impossible or prohibitively expensive to link it to the proposed system.
Under the proposed £34bn high speed railway plan, a new high-speed railway line would take passengers from London to the Midlands, the North-West and Scotland at speeds of 200mph. The national plan was announced in August and is expected to create jobs in construction, building, engineering and other related professions as contractors race to meet the demands of the massive improvement to the UK's rail infrastructure. The extra link will also create hundreds of supporting railway and maintenance jobs as an additional route is added for long-distance travel.